1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a device and method for identifying each set of wires among multiple of substantially identical sets of wires at the distributed ends.
2. Descriptions of the Prior Arts
During installation of electric service in a new building, renovation of electric wiring in an old building or installation of telephone wires for a residential or a small commercial building, an electrician connects a power source, sometimes, a vibrating buzzer, to a selected pair of wires at the central distributing end and then he identifies that particular pair at the distributed terminal end by detecting a light or sound, respectively.
Another method is simply to short a select pair of wire at one end and hunt for the pair at the other end with a portable power source and indicator such as a flash light with connecting clips. The time for traveling between two ends for repeating this process is minimized by two persons, one at each end, communicating, usually by shouting.
A telephone cable uses color-coded wires. Combinations of colors and spacing between the colored stripes can provide a large number of distinct wires in a bundle. However, in a small apartment or a large residential building, several identical sets of wires are used to distribute further to the individual rooms from the color-coded feed wires. Thus, it is necessary to identify each distributed set of wires at their terminals.
In prior arts, many improvements of above basic methods are found in US patents. They use improved power supplies, LED indicators and detectors, sophisticated wave forms for distinction and multiplexing, specially designed connectors, and network switching to perform part of tasks in the above basic methods. Most of these improvements are intended for communications and related wiring.
Bakker (4,652,813), McCartney (4,736,158) and Fields (4,937,519) proposed very complex voltage supply schemes, two separate sets of selector switches, and pulse generators, respectively. Fincher and Randall (5,847,557) proposed use of many LEDs as an indicators but the process still requires two persons. None of these improvements brought a simple, reliable and robust tool which an electrician can carry in his pocket and save time and money in his work.